Hobnob vs Paperless Post
Short answer: Hobnob is the cheaper of the two. Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Paperless Post works out to $105 (Premium feature set) for 100 guests and $263 (Premium feature set) for 250. Paperless Post earns the difference if you need large free design library sendable to the first 50 recipients at no cost.
If neither answer fits, Dawat does the same job free at any guest count: 53 card designs, unlimited guests, per-guest personal links and RSVP tracking, with no per-recipient charge.
The decision between Hobnob and Paperless Post is mostly a pricing decision. They overlap heavily on what they do; they differ on what they charge you to do it.
Hobnob and Paperless Post pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Mobile-first invitation app, now Zazzle Events, that sends photo or video invites by text or email and tracks RSVPs. Design-led online invitation and card service that charges virtual Coins per recipient for premium designs and features. Dawat is shown as a third column because it answers the same question at no cost, which is the relevant fact for most people reading this page.
| Hobnob | Paperless Post | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Charged per recipient | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Unlimited email invites (no credit cost), free social/link sharing, and 10 text-invite credits per month. | Free-feature-set designs sent to your first 50 recipients, plus unlimited distribution by shareable link. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $105 (Premium feature set) | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $263 (Premium feature set) | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | Yes | No |
| Guests need an account | No | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
"Not published" means no vendor documentation could be found either way, not that the feature is missing. How this grid is built →
Where they actually differ
Both give you tracking who has replied, sending by email, seeing who opened the invitation and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Hobnob includes sending invitations without paying outright; on Paperless Post it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Custom RSVP questions. Paperless Post supports asking your own questions. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Hobnob includes sending by text or WhatsApp outright; on Paperless Post it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Guest account required. Hobnob does not do this. Paperless Post does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Registry links. Paperless Post supports linking a gift registry. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Calendar file. Paperless Post supports adding the event to a calendar. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
When Hobnob is the better choice
Hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits.
- Email invites cost no credits, so email-only sends are free at any guest count
- Sends real SMS invitations; guests reply by text with no app download
- Delivery and viewed-status tracking plus automated RSVP reminders on paid plans
- Paid plans include event ticketing and payment collection, polls and sign-up lists
- Annual pricing is low: $19.99 or $59.99 a year rather than per event
Where it costs you:
- Text invites are metered per recipient as credits, not unlimited
- Free members get only 10 text-invite credits per month
- Premium's 310 credits per year cap how many texts you can send annually
- Premium designs, reminders and ticketing require a paid membership
- Primarily a phone app; there is no full desktop invitation editor documented
When Paperless Post is the better choice
Hosts of formal or design-sensitive events with modest guest lists who will pay per recipient for a polished, ad-free invitation.
- Large free design library sendable to the first 50 recipients at no cost
- Unlimited free distribution of free-feature-set designs via shareable link
- Custom RSVP questions: open-ended, multiple-choice, checkbox and mailing-address formats
- Delivery and open-rate tracking plus RSVP tracking on the guest list
- 25% discount published for nonprofits, charities, schools and universities
Where it costs you:
- Charges Coins per recipient, so cost scales directly with guest count
- Envelopes, liners, backgrounds, stamps and logos convert a free design to a paid send
- The free allowance covers 50 recipients, not an unlimited guest list
- An account is required to create and send
- Paid designs start at 2 Coins per recipient before any premium features
What each one costs, in dollars
7 of the 33 platforms tracked in this dataset charge per guest or per printed card. Hobnob and Paperless Post are both among them.
Published prices, converted into what you would actually pay for a real guest list. Credits, coins and per-card pricing are translated into dollars because that is the number you are deciding with.
| Hobnob | Paperless Post | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Charged per recipient | Free |
| 100 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $105 (Premium feature set) | Free |
| 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $263 (Premium feature set) | Free |
| How that is worked out | Email invites consume no credits at any guest count; text invites consume one credit each, and Premium's 310 credits cover 250 texts. | Guest count multiplied by the published $1.05 Premium per-guest rate; Paperless Post states the per-guest price falls at higher volumes, so treat these as upper bounds. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: Free members get 10 text-invite credits a month and unlimited email invites; Essentials is $19.99/year (70 credits) and Premium $59.99/year (310 credits). Paperless Post publishes per-guest rates of $0.00 (Free), $0.50 (Basic), $1.05 (Premium) and $1.44 (All Access), charged in Coins. Paperless Pro subscriptions start at $250/year for 250 annual guests.
The third option: neither of them is free at 250 guests
Both Hobnob and Paperless Post price by the head, which means the number that decides your bill is the one thing you cannot control: how many people you love. Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Paperless Post works out to $105 (Premium feature set) for 100 guests and $263 (Premium feature set) for 250.
Dawat tracks replies the same way both of these do, and costs nothing to do it. All 53 card designs, unlimited guests and unlimited sends are free, with no card required. What the other two do not do is address each guest personally: the envelope opens with that guest's name on it and their reply is one tap.
The honest caveats: Dawat is digital only, so it will not print and mail stationery, and it does not sell tickets. The optional Dawat Signature experiences are $89 once per event, and they are labelled as paid before you publish — nothing else is.
Create your invitation — free →No card required. Unlimited guests. 53 designs.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Hobnob | Paperless Post | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | Yes | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Animated envelope | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | Partial | No |
| Guest account required | No | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Not published | Partial | Partial |
| Calendar file | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| AI wording help | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Works inside ChatGPT / Claude | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Multilingual & right-to-left | Not published | Not published | Yes |
"Not published" means no vendor documentation could be found either way, not that the feature is missing. How this grid is built →
What your guests experience
Hosts compare dashboards. Guests get one link, once, usually on a phone, often while doing something else. Everything standing between that tap and an answer costs you replies.
| What your guest gets | Hobnob | Paperless Post | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Personally addressed link | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Add to calendar | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Right-to-left and multilingual | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Questions
Is Hobnob or Paperless Post cheaper?
Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Paperless Post works out to $105 (Premium feature set) for 100 guests and $263 (Premium feature set) for 250. Because at least one of them bills per recipient, the gap widens as the guest list grows: what looks like a few dollars at 20 guests is a real decision at 250. Both were checked on 2026-09-16.
Which is better for a wedding, Hobnob or Paperless Post?
Hobnob suits hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits. Paperless Post suits hosts of formal or design-sensitive events with modest guest lists who will pay per recipient for a polished, ad-free invitation. For a wedding specifically, the questions that matter are whether the invitation feels like an occasion, whether you can collect meal choices, and whether the price moves with the guest list.
Do guests need an account to reply on Hobnob or Paperless Post?
Hobnob does not require guests to have an account. Paperless Post does not publish whether guests need an account. Anything that makes a guest sign up before replying costs you responses, particularly from older relatives.
Is there a free alternative to Hobnob and Paperless Post?
Yes. Dawat is free at every guest count: all 53 card designs, unlimited guests, unlimited sends, RSVP tracking with your own questions, and a personally addressed link for each guest. There is no per-recipient charge and no card required to send. The only paid item is a Dawat Signature cinematic experience at $89 once per event.
Is Hobnob free?
Partly. Hobnob's help centre states that email invites do not cost a credit to send and that sharing an event link on social media is free. Free members also receive 10 text-invite credits a month. Text invites beyond that, premium designs and RSVP reminders require a paid membership.
Is Paperless Post free?
Partly. Designs on the Free feature set can be sent to your first 50 recipients at no charge, and can be distributed to unlimited people via a shareable link. Adding envelopes, liners, backgrounds, stamps or logos moves the design to a paid feature set. Paid card designs start at 2 Coins per recipient.
How current is this comparison?
Hobnob's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Paperless Post's on 2026-09-16. Every figure on this page links to the vendor page it came from, so you can verify it yourself rather than trusting a comparison written by one of the competitors.
Other comparisons
Every comparison below is built from the same checked pricing data.
Dawat vs Hobnob
The full head-to-head, including where Hobnob is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Paperless Post
The full head-to-head, including where Paperless Post is genuinely better.
Hobnob alternatives
Eight products that do what Hobnob does, ranked.
Paperless Post alternatives
Eight products that do what Paperless Post does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Hobnob and Paperless Post's own published pricing or help pages on 16 September 2026, and each source is linked below. Coins, credits and per-card rates are converted into dollars at a real guest count, because that is the number you are deciding with. Full methodology and the open dataset →
Reading this through an AI assistant? Dawat runs an MCP server, so ChatGPT or Claude can choose the design, write the wording, add your guest list, publish the invitation and send it without you leaving the conversation. Hobnob does not publish one.
Sources
- Hobnob memberships: Essentials vs Premium — checked 2026-09-16
- How can I send invites for free? (credit rules) — checked 2026-09-16
- Zazzle Events product page — checked 2026-09-16
- Hobnob homepage — checked 2026-09-16
- Paperless Post pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Paperless Post features — checked 2026-09-16
- Is Paperless Post free? Can I send for free? — checked 2026-09-16
- Card and Flyer Pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- How to Add Questions for Guests and Recipients — checked 2026-09-16